About mid-article, Caleb mentioned that, as a child, his first exposure to Michigan Basketball in Canada started due to watching Nik Stauskas at Michigan during his B1G POY/NCAA runs.
First of all- Stauskas as a childhood hero? Man, does that make me feel old. Where does the time go? 😕
Another thought regarding Stauskas: Sometimes due to his lack-luster NBA career so far, I forget how absolutely dominant he was at Michigan. TBH, Stauskas beats Trey (with Mo W a close third) by a hair as my favorite Beilein-era player: I just absolutely loved his on-court bravado, and man, did he back it up. That kid almost always brought me out of my seat with surprising, spicy (Spice Castillo 😋) plays. Stauskas' perimeter shooting was absolutely outlandish, and he had a playmaker's flair in almost everything he did. He was just so much fun to watch.
Which leads me to my last point: It shows the absolute unpredictability of the NBA careers of these players. Who would've thought, after each player's career, that Stauskas would be a journeyman deep-bench NBA player who would be in the EuroLeague right now, while Duncan Robinson would be an emerging NBA star and regarded as one of the best shooters in the league? I'd bet that most of us saw this for Stauskas and not for Robinson. In fact, Robinson's production fits Stauskas' draft slot (8th overall) and vice versa.
It's crazy that Duncan wasn't even Michigan's best hope for an NBA star named "Robinson"- As GR3 was the higher-rated draft prospect. It's crazy that Duncan is already more highly-regarded in the NBA than GR3, Trey, THJ, Mo, D.J. Wilson, Poole, and Iggy- all at least second rounders, and expected to do better than Duncan.
Fortunately, the NBA is a league that finds talent, wherever it is, and however long it takes it to develop, and I predict a "second act" for a forgotten Nik Stauskas to emerge as a dangerous off-the-bench sniper with a good (I'm thinking a teams like the Spurs or Warriors) NBA franchise. We've already seen the emergence/re-emergence of Trey and THJ as solid pieces on a very good NBA team with Dallas this past season. Nik has too much talent, IMO to continue to struggle and never return to the NBA. His time in the EuroLeague, hopefully will allow Nik to rediscover the "sauce" that made him such a star at Michigan...I'm pulling for him.
First of all- Stauskas as a childhood hero? Man, does that make me feel old. Where does the time go? 😕
Another thought regarding Stauskas: Sometimes due to his lack-luster NBA career so far, I forget how absolutely dominant he was at Michigan. TBH, Stauskas beats Trey (with Mo W a close third) by a hair as my favorite Beilein-era player: I just absolutely loved his on-court bravado, and man, did he back it up. That kid almost always brought me out of my seat with surprising, spicy (Spice Castillo 😋) plays. Stauskas' perimeter shooting was absolutely outlandish, and he had a playmaker's flair in almost everything he did. He was just so much fun to watch.
Which leads me to my last point: It shows the absolute unpredictability of the NBA careers of these players. Who would've thought, after each player's career, that Stauskas would be a journeyman deep-bench NBA player who would be in the EuroLeague right now, while Duncan Robinson would be an emerging NBA star and regarded as one of the best shooters in the league? I'd bet that most of us saw this for Stauskas and not for Robinson. In fact, Robinson's production fits Stauskas' draft slot (8th overall) and vice versa.
It's crazy that Duncan wasn't even Michigan's best hope for an NBA star named "Robinson"- As GR3 was the higher-rated draft prospect. It's crazy that Duncan is already more highly-regarded in the NBA than GR3, Trey, THJ, Mo, D.J. Wilson, Poole, and Iggy- all at least second rounders, and expected to do better than Duncan.
Fortunately, the NBA is a league that finds talent, wherever it is, and however long it takes it to develop, and I predict a "second act" for a forgotten Nik Stauskas to emerge as a dangerous off-the-bench sniper with a good (I'm thinking a teams like the Spurs or Warriors) NBA franchise. We've already seen the emergence/re-emergence of Trey and THJ as solid pieces on a very good NBA team with Dallas this past season. Nik has too much talent, IMO to continue to struggle and never return to the NBA. His time in the EuroLeague, hopefully will allow Nik to rediscover the "sauce" that made him such a star at Michigan...I'm pulling for him.
